Workbench

07/18/2008

One Mall I Don't Mind Visiting

The Trust for the National Mall is raising money to help the National Park Service restore the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The goal is to raise $500 million to not only fix The Mall, but to redesign the areas around the mall so it is more integrated with the city on one side and the waterfront on the other. (Tell the truth; You didn't even know there was a waterfront on the other side of The Mall, did you?)

There aren't many places I like being more than I like being on The Mall. Years ago I had a job that took me to D.C. regularly to research at the old National Archives on Pennsylvania Avenue, and one of the things I liked best was wandering over to the mall just to walk. As wonderful as it is, it has always struck me as a curiously sterile place, wildly underutilized even as people fret that it may be getting too crowded. The most vibrant parts of The Mall are down at the Lincoln Memorial end, where Vietnam Vets have set up information booths between the street and the Vietnam Memorial, booths that may seem like clutter to some but add badly needed life. (And what is life, after all, if not clutter?) The Mall needs, according to me, more of that: more hot dog vendors and cafes and things around the edges that make it possible not just to be at The Mall but to stay at the mall, to linger.

The Trust for the National Mall is raising money that will be used not only to catch-up on badly needed maintenance on The Mall, but also figure out ways to make The Mall more vibrant.

I never ask you for anything, but I'm asking now: Kick-in a few bucks to fix-up our national front yard. And go visit sometime, too. It's an inspiring place.

Comments

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I worked within two or three blocks of the National Mall for over 14 years and I share your affection for it. I seem to remember always finding it full of children, joggers and families, people playing softball or frisbee after work. And huge crowds for the Independence Day fireworks — one of life's great thrills, watching the fireworks boom over the Washington Monument or Lincoln Memorial.

But frankly I'm not too sure it needs a half a billion dollars worth of upgrades.

I've visited the mall a few times and it never fails to leave me in awe. I agree with NewMexiken in that I don't know that it needs that much in upgrades, but it's definitely worth the few bucks I can chip in.

Beautiful post, Tom. The National Mall is one of my favorite places in DC, along with the Library of Congress and Mount Vernon (not technically in DC, but close enough).

One time when I went, I went with a friend who's in the military. There were also people protesting against our involvement in Iraq. He commented how he (and everyone else in the military) put his life on the line so that they could enjoy their freedom of speech. An interesting juxtaposition.

I understand and respect the commitment that every member of the military makes when they swear in. Each one knows that they may be called on to give their life in the service of their country. That said, wars are started by politicians who give the marching orders and in the last 40 years there have been "good" wars and "bad" wars but not one of them has been about defending the rights of Americans. This is not unpatriotic nor making light of what each soldier/sailor/airman is willing to sacrifice for the United States. It is an accurate assessment our military involvements since World War II precipitated by both Democratic and Republican Administrations. We have gone to war to fight the spread of Communism, to ensure cheap bananas, to oust both dictators and duly elected Presidents. We have fought for strategic advantage, economic advantage and geo-political goals but we haven't fought for the Constitution.

With apologies for linking to my own stuff, I posted photos last year that I took from the top of the Washington Monument. They're not great — hazy day, dirty windows — but they're not awful either and they do give you a sense of the Mall unlike any other. The view from the top.

In my opinion the one thing the National Mall does not need is any more buildings or a "visitor center." It's the open space that enables the park-like setting among the monuments and urban hubbub. $500 million is a lot of sod and shrubs.